A Sirius Tale
by Squeak4ever
Summary: Family isn't always right. Sirius Black sits in a cell waiting for the trial that never came. He remembers.
1. Life at Number Twelve

Disclaimer: If I owned the Harry Potter books. ahhh, well, I wouldn't be here, I can tell you that much ^_^  
  
***  
  
The high security cell of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement was cold, very cold. The gloomy room contained little furniture - a plank for a bed and a hard, wooden chair. A dementor stood at the doorway, ever vigilant, waiting for the people who would decide the prisoner's fate to arrive.  
  
The captive had long ago stopped laughing; he was silent, dwelling on the events of the past twenty-four hours. It had used to be him, bringing prisoners to this small, dim cell to await trial under allegations of heinous crimes and use of dark magic. Now the roles were reversed. Many of them had sobbed and screamed. He had done neither.  
  
He chuckled sardonically; James had never meant it to end up like this. They had planned ever so carefully. Wormtail, the rat, the traitor, would be secret keeper. No one would suspect him. Then it turned out that all along, he had been the spy. The prisoner cursed to himself, under his breath. He had expected Remus to be the spy, Remus the werewolf. It just showed that he was another one with prejudices clouding his eyes. He was supposed to have been a loyal friend.  
  
The door opened noiselessly and three men entered. The foremost of them was a harsh man, used to dealing out sentences for life, sentences of death. He was young for the role he played in Wizard Britain, barely forty years old but everyone knew he was as ruthless and as tough as Lord Voldemort himself.  
  
Bartemius Crouch's cold, hard eyes looked into the sad depths of the prisoner's blue ones. After a moment he tore his gaze away.  
  
Sirius Black waited for the verdict to fall, not caring what would happen. The numbness he had felt when he had seen his best friends' bodies lying in the smoking ruins of their once quaint little cottage had not gone. He could not wipe away the image of their infant son, Harry, clinging to his mother's lifeless body, the cut on his forehead oozing blood. He felt like he was moving in treacle.  
  
When the words came, it took a while for them to penetrate the heaviness surrounding his brain.  
  
"Take him to Azkaban - without a trial."  
  
A Sirius Tale  
Chapter 1: Life at Number 12  
  
Silence reigned in the dim dining room with its walls of heavy green wallpaper, the evil looking candle brackets and the serpent-shaped doorknobs. No sound could be heard but the regular chomp, chomp of people eating.  
  
Sirius Black attacked his bacon and eggs with relish. He felt like he had not eaten for days. Of course he had eaten just the night before but that was beside the point.  
  
The door leading out to the hallway opened and Kreacher, the Black family house elf entered the room bearing a silver platter on which lay a parchment envelope addressed in emerald ink.  
  
The family paused in their eating. Sirius's mother and his brother looked towards the door but his father remained firmly ensconced behind The Daily Prophet.  
  
"A letter for Master Sirius," squeaked Kreacher in his high-pitched voice. Sirius did a double take. Nobody ever sent him mail. The only people he knew, he saw on a regular basis. He had never had a letter in his life.  
  
He took it from the platter Kreacher was offering and examined it carefully, at a loss to guess who it could be from. It was quite thick, the parchment was obviously good quality and it was sealed with a coat of arms; an 'H' with a lion, a badger, an eagle and a snake entwined around it.  
  
Of course, thought Sirius, mentally kicking himself, Hogwarts.  
  
The letter was addressed to:  
Mr S. Black  
The First Top Floor Bedroom  
12 Grimmauld Place  
London  
  
Kreacher had already thoughtfully slit the envelope open so Sirius pulled out the folded parchment inside and shook it open.  
  
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry  
  
Headmaster: Armando Dippet  
(Order of Merlin, 1st class; Head of the Dark Force Defense League)  
  
Dear Mr Black,  
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on 1st September. We await your owl by no later than 23rd August. Yours Sincerely, Albus Dumbledore, Deputy Headmaster.  
  
Sirius waved the letter in the general direction of his parents, "my Hogwarts letter," he said, breaking the heavy silence.  
  
His mother held out her slim white hand for it and Sirius handed it over.  
  
Artemis Black was a tall, arrogant, aristocratic woman of around forty- nine. She had black hair and piercing slate gray eyes that were hard as pieces of steel. She was pureblooded to the core, having been born into the Malfoy family and had married a Black, two of the oldest lineages of the wizarding world.  
  
She perused the letter, her lips pursed.  
  
"They are late this year. Send your owl by the 23rd? That's today. Kreacher!"  
  
The devoted house elf came running, almost tripping over as he attempted to bow whilst still moving, "Yes mistress?"  
  
"Kreacher, bring me my parchment and quill."  
  
The house elf backed out reverently, his nose still touching the floor and presently returned bearing the required paraphernalia.  
  
Mrs. Black composed a letter quickly, sealed it and handed it back to Kreacher. "Send this to Hogwarts immediately," she then turned to Sirius and his brother Regulus, "we will visit Diagon Alley tomorrow. I would have preferred to go today but your Aunt Antonia is coming to lunch and is bringing Andromeda and Narcissa with her."  
  
Sirius and Regulus's ears perked up, they had heard tales of this legendary street, packed with shops of every kind, big and small, stocking the strangest goods and produce but they had never been there.  
  
Just then Sirius's father actually laid down his newspaper and spoke.  
  
This was a rare occurrence to say the least. Normally, Stephen Black stayed behind the Prophet for the duration of breakfast before heading off to do whatever he did during the day.  
  
Sirius barely knew his father. To him, Stephen Black's hawk-like features belonged to the mysterious man who was always sat at the head of the dining room table.  
  
Martha, the house elf who was in charge of Sirius and Regulus's well-being had always maintained that their father was a highly important and influential man who must not be bothered or questioned about his work.  
  
Once, when Sirius was six, their cousin, Bellatrix had cursed her sister Andromeda in a fit of temper. She had been summoned downstairs to be interviewed by the adults, and to explain herself and had come back very silent and withdrawn - for about an hour.  
  
The threat of being 'sent to see your father' had always been the last resort as far as Martha was concerned, she had never told the two why it was so terrible, but it was enough to scare them into submission.  
  
Mr Black's voice was deep and he had a distinct aura of being very powerful.  
  
"It says here, old Armando Dippet will be retiring in June," he rumbled, "Albus Dumbledore will be taking his place." It sounded as though this piece of news did not please him, but his face showed nothing.  
  
In the meantime, Regulus had been carefully studying the headline on the front page of the newspaper, Another Muggle Killed: fourth in two months.  
  
"Mother?"  
  
"Yes Regulus?" Their mother sounded slightly bored.  
  
"Why are mudbloods inferior to us?"  
  
"There is no why about it Regulus. What have you been taught? Our blood is pure. That's the way it is, that's the way it always has been and that's the way it hopefully always will be."  
  
Mr Black rose to his feet, "Now, I have an important meeting with the Minister." He left the room with a purposeful stride. Everything he did was purposeful; he was a man who went through life with purpose.  
  
"Sirius! For goodness sake, keep your elbows off the table."  
  
Sirius scowled, "yes Mother."  
  
"And I want you both to be clean and tidy for lunch, Martha will make sure you are. You may leave the table."  
  
Number twelve Grimmauld Place, London, the ancient home of the Black family was a very tall building, taller than the muggle terraced houses that surrounded it like a guard of honour. It had five floors in all, and Sirius and Regulus lived on the very top floor.  
  
It was, and always will be a mystery to everyone as to why Sirius's ancestors had chosen to build the family home in such close proximity to muggles, especially considering the pureblooded mania that ran in the veins of the family. No one could ever quite work it out.  
  
Regulus was the younger of the pair now climbing the wide, sweeping staircases, but as he told anyone and everyone who would listen, only by eleven months. He and Sirius had the same black hair, dancing blue eyes and mischievous, adventurous spirit.  
  
Their parents inhabited a glittering society world, full of powerful, wealthy wizards and expensively dressed witches, all trying to come out on top of everyone else. Mr and Mrs. Black spent their time attending magnificent soirées, grand balls and lavish cocktail parties. In return, they hosted their own. Regulus and Sirius would crane their necks over the banisters and were sometimes even permitted to attend, although, this was rare.  
  
The two were inseparable, mainly due to the fact that they did not meet many children of their own ages, or indeed many children at all. There were naturally, numerous cousins to socialise with, but the only ones they really knew were the three daughters of their father's brother, Bellatrix, Andromeda and Narcissa. However, the lack of company did not make them in the least bit unhappy. They were perfectly content in their own small world.  
  
The duo ran up the grand, oak flights of stairs that led up to the upper regions of the house. They dashed along passageways, past open and shut doors, up more staircases until they stopped, panting, at the foot of the stairs leading up to the top floor, to regain their breath.  
  
"D'you want to play war?" asked Regulus hopefully.  
  
"OK," agreed Sirius as they mounted the final staircase.  
  
The two boys had the entire top landing to themselves. Consequently, it was the shabbiest part of the house, and the only bit that looked like someone actually lived in it. There were two bedrooms, the playroom, the schoolroom and the tiny room where Martha slept.  
  
Their parents had wanted their sons to be well educated as befitted young boys of the upper classes. A tutor, going under the name of Mr Sean Daglish, came four days of the week and taught them mathematics, Latin, Greek, French, History of Magic and most importantly, what their role would be when they were grown-up and out in the Wizarding World. Their tutor was, in keeping with what was normal in their world, related to them, a second cousin, once removed in fact.  
  
The pair burst explosively through the door of their playroom and started dragging the boxes of toys off the unstable shelves.  
  
"Can I be Grindlewald?" asked Regulus as they set them up.  
  
Sirius considered the proposition for a while, as he always did, "OK, but I can have the chimaera.  
  
"War" was the make-believe game Sirius and Regulus had invented many, many years before. It was based very loosely on the Grindlewald Wars, the fight between good and evil that had ended about fifteen years before Sirius was born.  
  
Regulus was always Grindlewald during these games, and Sirius was always Dumbledore. They deployed their toy armies against each other with carefully calculated battle plans you would not normally find in the heads of ten and eleven year olds. However, they were Blacks after all.  
  
Martha was deeply disapproving of these entanglements, the main objective of which, it is sad to say, was to completely obliterate your opponent. She had lived through what people referred to as "The Dark Times" and seen with her own eyes, the horror and carnage. However, she could do little to stop them.  
  
Regulus thought very hard about Sirius's deal before agreeing to it, as he always did. They always fought over the chimaera, whose name was Andrew. He was seen as being something of a lucky amulet of whoever's side he was on.  
  
"Wait a minute Sirius," said Regulus, frowning, as they sat facing each other from opposite sides of the playroom, their troops arrayed between them, "isn't Mr Daglish coming today?"  
  
"It's Monday Reg," said Sirius, whilst he tried to pick the best place in which to put a manticore, "he doesn't come on Mondays."  
  
"Oh, yeah," muttered Regulus, duly snubbed by his elder brother, and so, the battle commenced.  
  
***  
  
A/N: So, like it? Hate it? Tell me. I'm like a vampire, except I feed on reviews not blood :) 


	2. To make a difference

Disclaimer: It all belongs to JKR.  
  
**Chapter 2: To Make A Difference  
**  
All morning the battle raged – if you could call it 'raging' when the troops were only six centimetres tall and were not in the least bit lethal.  
  
By the time the battered old grandfather clock in the corner of the room struck eleven, they were nearing the end of their bloodless fight and Sirius quite obviously had the upper hand.  
  
This was exceedingly strange due to the fact that it was usually cold, levelheaded Regulus who usually won. Sirius's temper was much too fiery too be able to plan ahead. His preferred method of attack was to act on the spur of the moment and to see how everything worked out.  
  
Eventually Regulus had to accept defeat, something his pride generally wouldn't allow. Sirius was just performing a wild war dance in gleeful victory when the playroom door with its coat of flaking white paint swung open, banging off the wall and two girls entered.  
  
Andromeda and Narcissa Black were very alike, even for sisters. Andromeda was the elder at seventeen. She had brown hair and gray eyes that danced exactly like her cousins'.  
  
Eleven-year-old Narcissa had totally different colouring. She had long blonde hair and innocent blue eyes that could melt any adult within a two-metre radius. She was the sort of person who went with the flow - if her parents told her she was to marry Lucius Malfoy, she would. If Sirius for some reason didn't get put in Slytherin when they reached Hogwarts, she would not care.  
  
Despite their differences of colouring, they had the same slightly wavy hair and the same facial structure though Narcissa's cheeks were slightly rounder.  
  
"Hi Sirius, Regulus," said Narcissa, grinning cheerfully at them. Andromeda smiled weakly.  
  
"Hello," chorused the two boys in return. "How are you?" added Sirius, noting the glum expression on Andromeda's face.  
  
"Fine," said Narcissa brightly.  
  
"Alright," said Andromeda - not so brightly.  
  
"What's the matter Andie?" asked Sirius, who was feeling in an inquisitive state of mind.  
  
"She's in trouble," said Narcissa confidentially (and, sad to say, slightly gleefully) jumping onto the tattered sofa. "She has a boyfriend," she added in disgust.  
  
"Why do you want one of them, Andie?" asked Sirius, appalled. Andromeda's lips twitched as though she could not help smiling and her cheeks went slightly pink with embarrassment.  
  
"But that isn't why Mama and Papa are angry," cut in Narcissa, "he's a muggleborn."  
  
Regulus flinched and stared at Andromeda, his blue eyes open to saucer-like wideness. "How many heads does he have, Andie?" he asked in fascination.  
  
"Just the one," Andromeda said, her lips twitching again, "then again, they are slightly mollified by Bella - she's engaged," she added, sighing.  
  
"And Andie's head girl," supplemented Narcissa proudly.  
  
"You're head girl?" asked Sirius raising his voice as Regulus said, "Bella's engaged?"  
  
"Yes, I'm head girl," said Andromeda, sitting down cross-legged on the well trodden carpet, leaning against the wall, "and Ted's head boy so Mama and Papa can hardly forbid me from going near him."  
  
"His name's Ted?" asked Sirius, grinning gleefully.  
  
"Edward actually, but no one calls him that. Stop giggling Sirius, Ted isn't a bad name."  
  
Sirius straightened his face with difficulty, and Regulus took the opportunity to jump into the conversation, "did you say Bella's engaged?"  
  
"Yes," replied Narcissa, "her betrothal ball is going to be during the winter holidays."  
  
"But who is he?"  
  
"Rodolphus Lestrange. Y'know who I mean? He's a member of her cause."  
  
"Her cause?" inquired Regulus and Sirius in unison.  
  
"Hadn't you realised? Bella has joined Lord Voldemort." Andromeda looked angry – it wrought quite a change on her. Her eyes blazed and her mane long hair (not tied up on that particular day) tossed like the stormy sea.  
  
"I've heard that name before," said Regulus slowly.  
  
"I think we heard it through Father's study door," said Sirius, not in the least abashed.  
  
"You would have," said Andromeda bitterly, "our family concur thoroughly with his ideas if not his methods. He is trying to rid the world of muggles and muggleborns, he's the one they think is behind all the recent deaths and disappearances."  
  
"Why doesn't anyone try and stop him?" asked Sirius.  
  
"They've tried," said Andromeda, "he kills anyone who gets in his way. Supporters are flocking to him. They're calling themselves 'Death Eaters'."  
  
Sirius and Regulus pondered this silently. Never in their short lives had they come across anyone in the least like that. How could someone just kill? Even if he was only killing people who – in the long run – did not matter that much.  
  
"Well," said Narcissa, breaking the hush that had just started to become awkward. "Mama said that we're all going to be allowed to go to the betrothal ball. Yes, even you Reg," she added as Regulus opened his mouth, "it's going to be brilliant."  
  
"I don't like Rodolphus Lestrange," mused Andromeda. Sirius decided it was time to drag the conversation away from such delicate matters, "did you get your Hogwarts letter, 'Cissa?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Andromeda who had been gazing into space with an indecipherable look on her face dragged herself back down to the planet Earth. "Which houses do you two want to be in?" she inquired, sounding slightly distant but interested all the same.  
  
Sirius pursed his lips. Narcissa looked confused. Regulus frowned. It was a very strange question.  
  
"We only know about Slytherin, Andie," said Sirius, puzzled.  
  
"Well," said Andromeda briskly, "you have to know about the other houses even if They don't want you too."  
  
They all frowned at that particular cryptic comment even though it wasn't new to them that Andromeda referred to their family - as a whole - as 'They'.  
  
Andromeda didn't seem to notice the perplexed expressions of her younger sister and cousins – she ploughed on with her explanation, "first, there's Slytherin – that's where They want you to be, of course. They were all there. Slytherins are famed for being ambitious and cunning. That's where I am as well."  
  
"What are the others?" Sirius asked, idly flicking over a toy soldier.  
  
"Hufflepuff – loyal. People say they're duffers, but really they're lovely. Then there's Ravenclaw. That's the only house They will accept besides Slytherin. Everyone in Ravenclaw is exceptionally clever," she grinned, "doesn't mean they like work though!"  
  
"Gryffindor," prompted Narcissa as Andromeda hesitated at the end of this flow of information.  
  
"Yes. Gryffindor are – well, they're brave and noble and..."  
  
"Ted's a Gryffindor," muttered Narcissa to Sirius and Regulus, giggling.  
  
Andromeda glared at her. "As I was saying, to be put in Gryffindor is probably to sign your death sentence with the family," she grinned again and said, her eyes on Sirius, "go for it!"  
  
Sirius, Narcissa and Regulus chuckled happily though Sirius was puzzled about the message Andromeda had been trying to give him but she didn't enlighten him. On closer inspection she was looking very strained and tired.  
  
When Andromeda was eleven and Sirius and Narcissa were five, she had gone off to Hogwarts with her thirteen-year-old sister, Bellatrix. Then she had referred to muggleborns as 'mudbloods' as the rest of their family did. She had held the beliefs they had all been taught since birth – she didn't doubt them.  
  
Over the next six years, Sirius could see Andromeda changing, summer after summer. He could sense her opinions of their family crumbling. He knew Narcissa could see it too.  
  
Now, the process was almost complete. Sirius realised he had subconsciously felt it coming. Andromeda had broken away from the ties that bound her to the Black family.  
  
They spent the next hour or so discussing anything and everything from Hogwarts to the gnomes that had 'attacked' Regulus in the garden.

As the minute hand inched its way round to half past midday, Martha entered.  
  
Martha was the house elf who had cared for Sirius and Regulus since they were born. She was nearing sixty – old, for a house elf and she was the mother of Kreacher. She had cared for Sirius's father and his siblings before the two boys and her mother had cared for his grandfather and so on.  
  
She had tufts of white hair and she walked with a slight shuffle. This however did not impede her in any way as Sirius and Regulus knew only too well. She was as sharp as nails, picking up on any misdemeanour that may have occurred.  
  
"The mistress is wanting you in the drawing room," she squeaked good- naturedly. Her eye fell on Sirius's tousled head. "Master Sirius! Martha is always, always wondering how you is getting in such a mess." She produced a hairbrush out of nowhere and handed it to him. "Miss Narcissa," she added, "Martha is thinking your plait will be coming loose."  
  
"Thanks Martha," said Narcissa, tweaking the blue ribbon that tied up one of her long blonde plaits.  
  
They made their way slowly downstairs towards the drawing room, passing the portraits of their ancestors snoozing gently that lined the walls and staircases. Some of the (few) wide awake ones called out cheery greetings – Sirius reflected that it must be quite boring being a portrait.  
  
The drawing room door was made of old English oak, and it swung open noiselessly as they approached it.  
  
At the opposite end of the long room, sat Sirius's mother and his aunt (also his mother's second cousin), Antonia Black sat, sipping tea, little fingers sticking out – something that always amused Sirius and Regulus.  
  
Antonia Black followed pretty much the same mould as Sirius's mother, the same as most high society witches. She was thin and pale; also, very elegant. Her hair was blonde like Narcissa's.  
  
Andromeda, Sirius and Regulus sat down on the long sofa whilst Narcissa perched on the edge of an armchair. Their mothers regarded them through piercing eyes.  
  
"We're going to go to Diagon Alley today instead," said Artemis Black, finally. Antonia rose from her seat and walked over to the tapestry that ran all the way along one wall of the drawing room. Artemis followed her. "Sirius. Narcissa. Come here," she called imperiously.  
  
Sirius and Narcissa edged their way across the room and contemplated the tapestry along with their mothers.  
  
"What do you see?" asked Antonia.  
  
"Erm...a lot of people?" suggested Narcissa, hesitantly.  
  
"What we have here, Narcissa Black, is a dynasty," her mother rebuked her sharply, "your bloodline can be traced back to before the Norman Conquest and it is completely pure – not befouled in any way, whatsoever."  
  
"What's that?" asked Sirius, pointing to a small round burn that seemed to have replaced one of his grandfather's siblings.  
  
"That was your great-aunt Emily," Artemis said, matter-of-factly. "She ran off and married a muggle. She defiled the family name, so she was disowned. Never do anything that might bring shame on the family, you two. Never."

Sirius gazed around in awe at the bustling, noisy street of Diagon Alley. Everywhere you turned there was cheerful chatter and merry laughter. There were teenagers all over the place, obviously buying their school things too.  
  
The quartet followed Artemis and Antonia into a bookshop (Flourish and Blotts) where Andromeda departed to find NEWT level books and Sirius and Narcissa were despatched to find different volumes from their lists.  
  
"Excuse me, have you seen One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi anywhere?" Sirius was jerked out of his absent-minded perusal of the bookshelves for that exact book by a bespectacled boy standing next to him, gazing at the tomes with a slightly puzzled expression. "It doesn't seem to be here, you see," he continued.  
  
"I know," said Sirius, "I can't find it either."  
  
"D'you think we're looking in the right section?"  
  
"This is the potion ingredients books section."  
  
"I'm James, by the way." James had messy black hair and brown eyes he was just a bit shorter than Sirius. He had an air of suppressed excitement surrounding him, "I can't wait to go to Hogwarts."  
  
"Neither can I," said Sirius extending his hand, "Sirius." James shook it, "pleased to meet you."  
  
"Wait a minute," James suddenly yelped. "I think I saw it there," he said, pointing to the left. He ran forward and picked up two books. "Here."  
  
"Thanks," said Sirius, "oh, I need another – for my cousin." He leaned over and picked one up.  
  
"I'd better go," said James, "my dear mother will be hunting for me – she's in here somewhere looking for the rest of my books with my sister. See you on September the first."  
  
"Bye," said Sirius and James disappeared almost as fast as he had come, evaporating into the magical cooking section. Sirius shrugged and went off to find Narcissa.  
  
They stepped out into the bright sunshine five minutes later. Andromeda was hailed by a giggling girl with short golden hair and departed to go and fetch the rest of her things with the girl whose name seemed to be 'Jet'. Sirius couldn't quite work out why.  
  
They visited the apothecary, Madam Malkins Robes for all Occasions and a cauldron shop before they fetched up outside the wand shop later that morning. Andromeda was waiting for them outside, a small smile playing around her lips. She looked very happy for a reason Sirius could not fathom – something Artemis and Antonia had picked up on, they were glaring at her suspiciously.  
  
"Come," said Artemis regally sweeping into the shop, as a couple dressed in what could only be muggle clothes exited with their redheaded daughter. Sirius's mother frowned down her nose at them.  
  
Ollivanders was very dingy and badly lit. At the back there were shelves upon shelves of wands some of which a wizened old man was replacing, obviously left over from the redheaded girl.  
  
The proprietor whirled around to face them. Regulus squeaked. Sirius decided he was a very creepy old man. His grey eyes were huge in his face.  
  
"Aha...Sirius Black? Narcissa Black?" They nodded mutely. He turned to face Andromeda, "Andromeda Black. Ten and a half inches, dragon heartstring and maple. I hope it's serving you well? You were a particularly difficult customer."  
  
Andromeda smiled, "yes. It's a good wand."  
  
"Hmm." He pulled a tape measure with silver markings on it from nowhere. It began wrapping itself of its own accord around Narcissa, measuring her wand arm (right), her hand span and – strangely enough – between her nostrils.  
  
"Every Ollivander wand is handcrafted and only one will suit you. You will never get as good results with another witch or wizard's wand." He informed them, handing Narcissa a wand. "Try it, Miss Black."  
  
Narcissa must have been through at least twenty wands before they finally got a result that satisfied Mr Ollivander – unicorn hair and beech, ten inches. A shower of pink sparks filled the air, causing Andromeda, Sirius and Regulus to clap and whoop excitedly.  
  
The tape measure, Sirius suddenly realised had been measuring him whilst Narcissa had been trying out wands. Mr Ollivander clapped his hands and it crumpled into a heap at his feet.  
  
Mr Ollivander handed him one of the wands Narcissa had discarded and Sirius waved it. Nothing happened. Almost immediately, it was wrenched from his grasp and he was holding another wand. Again, nothing happened.  
  
It seemed to Sirius that he had waved half the wands in the shop before red sparks burst out of a wand made from dragon heartstring and oak (eleven inches). The outcome was greeted with enthusiastic applause from his cousins and brother.  
  
Mr Ollivander packaged up the wands and their mothers handed over seven galleons each. The party emerged into Diagon Alley once more and Antonia, Andromeda and Narcissa departed for their house in Oxfordshire.  
  
Sirius's mother was just preparing the portkey to transport them back to Grimmauld Place when his mother's brother's wife and her son, Lucius, hailed them from outside a branch of Scrivenshaft's Quill Store.  
  
Lucius Malfoy was Sirius's cousin - the only one of his cousins that he had never really liked. Sixteen-year-old Lucius, ready to enter his sixth year at Hogwarts had always had a reputation for bullying younger children. He had an atmosphere around him that turned people away from him unless they were interested in only the power he could wield; a power that would scatter the younger children to do his bidding in terror.  
  
Sirius and Regulus had once had to listen in on a conversation some of the adults were having in their father's study on his orders. They were aged eight and seven and had not understood a word of it, but Lucius had seemed pleased. It was not the having to listen at the study door that mattered Sirius had decided (they did that all the time). It was more the principle that had counted.  
  
Their mother and aunt exchanged pleasantries and politely asked after the health of various people before Artemis escorted them into an alleyway and the portkey conveyed them home.  
  
Many hours later, after the sun had set, but before Martha came in to tell them to go to bed, Sirius and Regulus lay in front of the fire in their playroom, lazily playing Wizard's Chess.  
  
"Sirius?" Regulus asked slightly wistfully as his queen mutilated one of Sirius's pawns.  
  
"Yeah?" Sirius looked up from gazing lovingly at his wand, which was lying next to the chessboard.  
  
"You won't forget me when you go to Hogwarts will you? You'll write to me?"  
  
"Course I will," said Sirius, "I'll write every week. Anyway, you're coming to Hogwarts next year and I'll be back at Christmas and Easter. Don't worry Reg, I'd never forget you."

****

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	3. Choices

**Disclaimer:** All J.K.Rowling's. Nuff said.  
  
**Chapter 3: It is our choices that make us what we truly are...  
**  
On the thirty-first of August, after his new trunk was packed to bursting point with wand, robe and books; and everything was completely ready, Sirius was summoned to his father's study for an unexpected interview.  
  
He approached the forbidden room with just the tiniest amount of trepidation. Regulus's overactive but not very often used imagination had driven into gear when Martha had come into the playroom to tell Sirius to brush his hair.  
  
"What if he wants to do something terrible to you?" he had asked. "What if he wants to disembowel you or something?" This had served to make Sirius slightly nervous and he was consequently a touch jumpy. This state of mind was not helped by the portrait of his great grandfather, Thomas Black, shouting out, "good luck, boy!" in dark tones.  
  
He twisted the doorknob (so large, it was an effort to get his hands around it) and leaned against the door in order to open it. His father was sitting at the desk surrounded by pieces of parchment bearing important looking crests and illegible, curly writing.  
  
"Ah, Sirius," he said, smoothly as his son hovered by the door. He waved a hand at an armchair opposite the desk. "Sit down."  
  
Sirius sat down. The armchair was very deep and he sank back into it, his feet practically perpendicular. He could barely see Stephen over the top of them.  
  
"You will be starting at Hogwarts tomorrow," he said, "and we – I – expect you to uphold the family's honour at all times. You will be sorted into Slytherin and will make friends with all the right people. You are not to talk to mudbloods or halfbloods. Do you understand me?"  
  
Sirius nodded frantically.  
  
"Good. We are hoping that Andromeda is the only rotten apple in the barrel. You may go."  
  
Sirius scrambled out of the chair and departed in the direction of the door as quickly as possible.  
  
"Oh. And Sirius?" his father added, picking up an eagle feather quill and preparing to start working again. "Have a good year."  
  
"Thank you," said Sirius.  
  
-------------  
  
The next morning Sirius woke up at the insane hour of five o'clock and therefore had to endure five-and-a-half hours of feverish excitement before he was due to leave.  
  
Regulus was accompanying them to the station – something that was causing him to bounce around like a rabbit on drugs and totally forget that the reason they were going to Kings Cross was so that Sirius could go away to school, thus abandoning Regulus.  
  
At half-past-ten, Artemis activated the portkey to take them to Kings Cross – well not exactly to the station but to an alley outside it. Martha had bewitched Sirius's trunk so that it was feather-light and he could lift it up easily.  
  
The station was crowded with people, who, Sirius knew, were mostly muggles though you could spot someone pushing a trolley with an owl atop it now and then.  
  
Andromeda had informed Narcissa and Sirius about how to get on to platform nine and three-quarters the day before, so Sirius wasn't at all surprised when Artemis beckoned them through a solid brick wall. There was a wall just like it in their tree house – designed to look as if there was no door.  
  
The platform was teeming with teenagers and their parents, saying last goodbyes, issuing final instructions ("Don't forget to clean your teeth, Melissa O'Brien – I know how you are."), hunting for lost pets and generally being slightly emotional.  
  
A whirl of muggle clothes (they had all – even Sirius's mother - had to wear muggle clothes to walk through the station) and blonde plaits announced Narcissa, flushed pink with excitement.  
  
"It's almost time," she squealed in anticipation. Antonia and Andromeda appeared behind her, Andromeda wishing them a hasty goodbye, informing them she had a prefect's meeting to attend and disappeared with the golden haired girl she had met up with at Diagon Alley.  
  
Antonia and Artemis loaded the Narcissa and Sirius into a compartment, "bye," said Regulus, slightly tearful now.  
  
"We'll write Reg," promised Narcissa, "bye, Mama, Aunt Artemis."  
  
"Yeah, bye," said Sirius. Artemis and Antonia disapparated, with two small pops leaving Narcissa and Sirius to their own devices. A whistle blew somewhere near the front of the train. There was a sudden scramble as everyone got on and the army of well-wishers on the platform began waving sodden handkerchiefs in farewell. Sirius suddenly felt a strange sort of ache inside himself, but he brushed whatever it was away impatiently.  
  
The train chugged gently out of the station, steaming out into London. Dirty buildings rolled past on both sides, becoming gradually cleaner the farther they went. A girl called Jocelyn Mulciber (a cousin of Narcissa's, but not Sirius) entered their compartment and spirited Narcissa away. Sirius declined an invitation to join them – he knew that they would spend much of the time giggling over nothing in particular.  
  
Narcissa had only been gone for a few minutes, and more trees were gradually starting to appear outside when the compartment door slid open once again, to reveal a blonde haired boy, and the boy Sirius had met in Flourish and Blotts – James.  
  
"Can we sit here?" asked the blonde boy.  
  
"It's Sirius, isn't it?" said James, recognition dawning on his face.  
  
Sirius nodded, "yeah, course you can sit down."  
  
"Thanks. This is Peter Pettigrew; I know him 'cause his Dad works with my Dad."  
  
"D'you want a chocolate frog?" asked Peter, waving a bag as he sat down by the window opposite Sirius, "my little sister gave me her entire collection to keep me going. She's been reading school stories – thinks the food's going to be horrible." He pulled a face, "never mind that both Mum and Dad have assured her that it's delicious."  
  
The train chugged merrily on, London faded into the surrounding countryside, and Sirius, Peter and James finished the chocolate frogs and played a few rounds with James's Exploding Snap cards. A plump witch pushing a tea trolley piled high with sweets came past their compartment at about noon – Sirius bought a large stack of cauldron cakes and James bought some Fizzing Whizzbees.  
  
A constant stream of people passed by their compartment all afternoon. Some had made it their mission to greet everyone on the train. Some had searched for them with a definite purpose in mind. Andromeda and the girl whose name Sirius now remembered was Jet checked up on them and Narcissa and Jocelyn also stuck their heads round the door.  
  
Shortly after Andromeda and Jet had left, a scuffle in the corridor and raised voices caused the three boys to stick their heads out of the compartment door. Lucius Malfoy was a short way along the corridor, his wand trained on a boy, slightly smaller than him who was staring defiantly back, his wand also raised and his jaw set determinedly.  
  
They had already attracted the attention of quite a crowd. A girl behind the boy who was not Lucius squealed, her hand over her mouth, "Jack, please. He's not worth it."  
  
Jack ignored her.  
  
"What's going on here?" Andromeda's voice rang out over the heads of the excited mass of people. "Jack, Lucius. What on earth are you doing?"  
  
"He called Jack a mudblood," said the girl hotly – she now appeared to be sticking up for Jack.  
  
Andromeda had finally broken her way through the crowd. She was already wearing her Hogwarts robes and she was accompanied by Jet and a boy who Sirius did not recognise but deduced from the badge pinned to his robes that he was the infamous Ted Tonks.  
  
"That's as may be." Andromeda said, sharply. "Luckily I can't take points off yet, but remember you two – Lucius, you must not call people mudbloods, use 'muggleborn' please, and Jack, try not to get provoked so easily. Names are one thing. Violence is another. Now go back to your compartments – all of you."  
  
The crowd departed mumbling to themselves. Lucius and Jack disappeared in different directions after glaring at each other. Andromeda, Ted and Jet along with some other people went into one of the compartments further down. The corridor was empty again.  
  
Sirius, Peter and James re-entered their compartment. James raised an eyebrow in a comical fashion. "That was my sister," Peter said.  
  
"Which one?" asked Sirius, frowning.  
  
"Meredith. She's a fifth year, Ravenclaw."  
  
The rest of the journey passed quickly enough. The scenery changed rapidly, morphing and mutating the further north they went. They rolled over hills, through moors and beside rivers. The light started to fade outside as they started to slow down, seven hours after they had started.  
  
A voice echoed through the train. "We will be reaching Hogsmeade Station in ten minutes. Please leave your trunks and pets on the train – they will be taken up to the school separately. Please get changed into your school robes if you have not already done so. Thank you."  
  
The three boys scrambled in their trunks for their robes and pulled them on quickly. "How d'you think they'll sort us?" he asked nervously.  
  
"My sister said we had to fight a Boggart," said Peter, "but I think she was joking," he added uncertainly.  
  
Sirius sincerely hoped that they would not have to fight a Boggart – he did not know how to, though Andromeda had told him years and years ago that it was something to do with laughter.  
  
The train ground to a halt and Sirius, James and Peter joined the crowd in the corridor waiting to disembark. It was almost dark outside as the trio stood hesitantly on the platform. Andromeda appeared behind them suddenly, "you three should go over there," she said, pointing, "Hagrid is taking all the first years to the castle by boat."  
  
They departed in the direction she had indicated and were shortly rewarded by booming voice shouting, "firs' years over here. C'mon now. Firs' years."  
  
They ventured a bit further and were met by the sight of the largest man Sirius had ever seen.  
  
"Do you think he's a giant?" James whispered, his eyes wide. They went to stand with a group of nervous looking students who were obviously new as well.  
  
"I don't think so," muttered Peter, "he's a bit too small."  
  
Sirius decided that he was quite big enough  
  
Hagrid beckoned them all down a long, steep and slippery path. They emerged some time later on the edge of a wide expanse of water, where a little fleet of boats was moored, waiting for them.  
  
"No more 'n four to a boat," called Hagrid, getting into the front one. He was so big that he filled up the entire boat by himself.  
  
Sirius, Peter and James scrambled to get into a boat together; a brown haired boy who introduced himself as Edward Bones joined them.  
  
"Everyone ready?" yelled Hagrid. "Right, forward." The fleet of little boats set off, sailing rapidly across the water. "Yer'll get yer firs' sight of Hogwarts here. Round the bend."  
  
The boats turned the corner and a faint gasp of wonder rose from the students. Perched high above them, light shining from its windows and its many turrets soaring into the clouds was Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  
  
"Wow," said James, gazing upward.  
  
"Yeah," agreed Sirius, lost for words.  
  
"Heads down," shouted Hagrid. They all bent down as the boats passed under a thick curtain of ivy and clinked gently together as they stopped beside a wide flight of worn, stone steps.  
  
At the top of the steps there was a large oak door. Hagrid raised his fist, banged on it and then waited. It swung open almost immediately to reveal a tall man with long auburn hair and an auburn beard, interspersed with silver hair. He was wearing vibrant purple robes covered in moons and stars.  
  
"Welcome to Hogwarts!" he beamed, smiling round. Hagrid had disappeared somewhere. "Come in, come in."  
  
They were crowded into a small antechamber; Sirius estimated that there was about thirty of them present, all looking extremely scared, though he supposed he did not look much better.  
  
Professor Dumbledore was holding up a hand to quieten them. "Welcome to Hogwarts," he repeated, "I hope you will profit greatly from your years here – and also enjoy them immensely of course! In a few minute you will be sorted into your houses. Whilst you are at Hogwarts your house will be like your family. Any rule breaking could have the possibility of losing house points whilst any achievements in lessons and so on could gain you house points. Now, I will be back to take you through to the Sorting Ceremony in a minute." He left.  
  
"I think," said James dramatically, "that they're just making us wait on purpose."  
  
Sirius and Peter ignored him.  
  
It was barely seconds before Dumbledore returned and ordered them to get into a long line. James and Peter were behind Sirius, whilst Narcissa was in front of him.  
  
"It'll be alphabetical," muttered James. "What's your surname, Sirius?"  
  
However, Sirius did not have time to answer because Professor Dumbledore was now ushering them out of the door and across the Entrance Hal towards the Great Hall where the rest of the school were assembled, waiting for them.  
  
It was the ceiling of the Great Hall that caught Sirius's attention the most. It was bewitched to look like the sky outside and at the present moment, it was dotted with stars and the occasional wisp of cloud scudding across.  
  
His insides clenched involuntarily – a butterfly was performing a one- man stunt show in his stomach. Behind him, the sugar from the sweets they had eaten on the train was obviously starting to take effect on James who was hopping from foot to foot in excitement. Peter was gibbering silently to himself.  
  
The first years hurried after Professor Dumbledore, occasionally tripping over the hems of their over-large, plenty-of-room-to-grow-into robes and gazing around in mute awe.  
  
At the far end of the hall sat the teachers, stately and commanding in their robes of black, green and other sombre colours. Professor Dumbledore was easily the most brightly dressed – he stood out like the Sun beside the moon, it seemed.  
  
Sirius and his companions were led up the hall, following the deputy headmaster like he was the Pied Piper. They were passing between two long tables at which sat students the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw colours.  
  
Directly ahead of them, in front of the teachers and sitting (standing, perhaps) on a low three-legged stool was a very old and battered hat.  
  
Yes. A hat.  
  
As the crowd of eleven-year-olds assembled in front of the hat, facing the rest of the school, the chatter died down and everyone looked at the hat. A rip near the brim opened.  
  
Ah. It was a talking hat. That explained a lot.  
  
The hat took a breath and broke into song:  
  
_When I was young and newly sewn,  
  
No patches on my brim,  
  
I was made with double stitch,  
  
To serve the rich of kin.  
  
Luxurious and rich I was,  
  
The finest of my kind,  
  
But now I am the last one left,  
  
My threading now unwinds.  
  
I was chosen by the founders four,  
  
A quest they had for me,  
  
To split and divide you,  
  
For life it may well be.  
  
Some will go to Gryffindor,  
  
The brave and true at heart,  
  
Others will be Ravenclaw,  
  
Witty, wise and smart.  
  
Or maybe to fair Hufflepuff,  
  
The just and loyal house,  
  
And finally to Slytherin,  
  
Where ambition fuels life's joust.  
  
So try me on, don't be afraid,  
  
Of what you may begin,  
  
The houses four have always been,  
  
Linked together, from within.  
_  
Sirius's jaw dropped. He could no help it. It was not everyday you came across a singing hat.  
  
He glanced over at the table on the far left with its students wearing green and silver ties. He caught Andromeda's eye. She grinned and gave him the thumbs up.  
  
Professor Dumbledore had pulled a scroll of parchment out from somewhere about his person. He unrolled it and started the sorting with, "Ashbrook, James."  
  
A boy with light brown hair approached the stool and gingerly put the hat on his head. It sat there for a long time. Sirius was just wondering whether everyone was going to take as long and whether he would be able to stay upright for all that time when the hat suddenly and loudly declared James Ashbrook a Gryffindor.  
  
He grinned in relief, took the hat off and set off towards the Gryffindor table on the far right who were using a new member of their house as an excuse to make a great deal of noise. Sirius decided that Gryffindor looked quite fun.  
  
"Avery, Anthony."  
  
The hat had barely touched Avery, Anthony's head before it screamed, "Slytherin!" Sirius vaguely recognised him from a few of his parents' parties. Alice Bishop who joined James Ashbrook at the Gryffindor table quickly followed him.  
  
Narcissa was called up next and summarily despatched to Slytherin House where she fell into conversation with Andromeda and another girl who Sirius knew to be Ariadne Rookwood – a second year.  
  
"Black, Sirius," called Professor Dumbledore. Sirius started – he had not quite accepted that it would be so soon but he walked over to the stool, sat down and pulled the hat on. It fell down over his eyes.  
  
As he stared into pitch black, a small voice spoke in his ear. _Sirius Black, am I right?  
  
"Oh...erm...yes," _thought Sirius, _"so which house should I be in?"  
  
"Impatient. Hmm... Rebellious too. Your mind is just like your cousin's."  
  
"Which one? Not Bellatrix?"  
  
"No. Not Bellatrix. I was thinking more Andromeda – and she certainly has been rebellious lately, from what Professor Dippet has told me."  
  
"Oh. All right. So, which house?"  
  
"Mr Black. What say you and I make a splash?"  
  
"I don't want to get wet."  
  
"How does Gryffindor sound to you?"  
  
"Mother and Father would be angry."  
  
"Yes. So what do you think?"  
  
"Yes. It'll be fun."  
  
"Very well, Sirius Black. Enjoy yourself in..._GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
Sirius slipped off the stool and strolled off towards the clapping and cheering Gryffindor table.  
  
He chanced a quick glance towards the Slytherin table and saw the occupants staring at him in slightly stunned disbelief. A Black in Gryffindor – inconceivable! Only Andromeda was clapping. She caught Sirius's eye and winked. Sirius grinned.  
  
He sat down opposite Alice Bishop and James Ashbrook who quickly reintroduced himself as "Jim".  
  
Lily Evans joined them shortly – the read headed girl he had seen leaving Ollivander's and she was followed by a pig-tailed girl called Amy Hutchinson. Katherine Longbottom was next to sit down and she was heartily congratulated by a boy so similar to her, he was probably her brother.  
  
They passed the N's, and the O's. Finally, they were at the P's. Sirius remembered that Peter's surname was Pettigrew – he still din not know what James's was.  
  
Parry, Leila went to Ravenclaw and Peter came over to Gryffindor, grinning with relief. "James should be soon," he whispered, "Potter."  
  
As if on queue, Dumbledore called, "Potter, James," and James bounced up to the school. The hat sat on his head for an entire minute before it despatched him to Gryffindor to join Peter and Sirius.  
  
Sirius was trying to work out where he had heard James's surname before. He felt that it was something to do with politics – also, the Potters were often invited to his parents' parties, but they often refused.  
  
"You didn't say your surname was Black," James muttered as he sat down between Sirius and Peter.  
  
"It never came up."  
  
"Why aren't you in Slytherin?"  
  
"The hat asked me if I wanted to be rebellious. I said yes."  
  
"Oh," whispered James, frowning. He changed the subject, "the hat wanted to put me in Ravenclaw. As if I'd go there. Quite flattering though," he added as an afterthought.  
  
The sorting dragged on. By the end, Gryffindor had received only one more student though – a very short girl by the name of Catriona Williamson.  
  
When the last student (Andrew Zabini) had sat down and Dumbledore had rolled up his scroll of parchment and removed the stool, aging Professor Dippet, the headmaster, rose to his feet. "Welcome back," he said, his voice carrying despite his great age (Sirius had heard someone say once that he was at least two hundred). He looked very frail. "As some of you probably know, next year I will be leaving my post as headmaster of this school and Professor Dumbledore will be taking over the headship. I very much hope for a peaceful year."  
  
He smiled, his eyes darting to some older students at the Hufflepuff table, "yeah, right, Professor," one of them called. Some people laughed, as did Professors Dippet and Dumbledore.  
  
"As I was saying, a few reminders are in order. Firstly, the Forbidden Forest is exactly as its name suggests: forbidden. Please do not enter it without a teacher. Also, Mr Filch has asked me to inform you that Zonko's Biting Teacups have been added to the list of items prohibited in this school. Now, let us settle down to our feast. Thank you." He sat, and all the plates magically filled with a large and delicious-looking assortment of food.  
  
There were chicken legs and sausages; cabbage and green beans; little roast potatoes and mint humbugs which Sirius knew were for you to clear your mouth for dessert.  
  
There was silence in the hall for a while as everyone dug in, but gradually conversation rose as the first years got to know the people they would be spending the next seven years with.  
  
Catriona Williamson made up for her short stature by being very loud. She had quickly informed them all that she was probably the youngest in the year, "my birthday's on 31st August..."  
  
"We'll call you Kitten," said James. Everyone stared at him. "What? She's short – kittens are small. She's noisy - kittens aren't noisy. It fits perfectly.  
  
"Kitten suits you down to the ground," Katherine Longbottom informed her, "I'm Katie by the way."  
  
Lily Evans was trying to get Peter and Alice to tell her what it was like to grow up in the wizarding world as opposed to the muggle world and Jim was talking to Amy. James attempted to tell Sirius just why he was so surprised to hear that Sirius's surname was Black.  
  
"It's just that I've heard my Dad talk about your family – he never makes you sound very pleasant. And, he says a lot about dark magic."  
  
"We don't talk about the dark magic part," said Sirius, grinning. James stared, "no, really. If there is any dark magic in my family, I don't know about it."  
  
Many hours later, when Sirius had eaten so much that he thought he would probably drown if he got in any large volume of water, the plates cleared and Professor Dippet rose to his feet to wish them good night.  
  
They all stood up, uncertain where to go until a boy and a girl wearing prefect badges came and chivvied them off up many flights of stairs. Sirius was so tired, he could barely keep his eyes open.  
  
They eventually came to a halt in front of a large portrait of a woman in a pink dress. "Password?" she asked.  
  
"Double-ended newts," said the male prefect and, turning to the first years, "you'll do well to remember that. Now," he added, leading them through the portrait hole (Kitten/Catriona needed a leg-up), "girls up that staircase, and boys up that one. Sleep well."  
  
Sirius stumbled up the stairs with the other four boys. They found their dormitory with its plaque on it labelled 'First Year', and entered.  
  
They climbed into their beds as quickly as possible. Sirius's last thought before his head hit the pillow was along the lines of, yes, I wouldn't fit in Slytherin. He did not know how he knew. He just did.  
  
**A/N:** All credit for the Sorting Hat poem goes to **Bexyfluff** and **Diamond** (insert numbers I can't remember). Thank you so much – I don't do poetry :- ) I gave Catriona her nickname before Big Brother – please, please don't relate it to that.  
  
Thanks to **Akalei **– my one reviewer. Your review meant so much to me.  
  
I set a record here, first time I have ever got this far with a story AND a record amount of minimum time between posting (did that make sense?).


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